I am an Indian living and working in Kuwait. I am planning to come to Australia for a work permit for 4 years and it could lead to PR. Well, I would like to buy a property in Melbourne. Should I have to wait until I receive my work permit or can I do it from here?

I have ample savings of $200,000 which could be used towards the purchase. And I’ll be looking for a property in the range of $600,000.

When a foreign citizen is working and living in a third country, then Australian lenders are very cautious towards lending for a home loan for those individuals. They basically want to ensure that the applicant’s income must match applicants nationality and where they live.

However, this is not required for Australian expats.

So, it’s better if you apply for a home loan once you receive your work permit and come here in Australia.

As a temporary resident, you have to focus on these things while applying for a home loan:

Yes, I have already applied for a work permit five months ago and probably should hear back from them in the coming month. Moreover, I have a cousin there who has a PR, will it be easier if I bought the property with him?

You could borrow up to 95% of the property value and pay only half of the foreign stamp duty if you’re buying the property as ‘joint tenants’.

Alternatively, you could buy the property in your cousin’s name only but have the loan in both of your names or for you to wait until you’re a PR. Otherwise, if you buy in VIC, NSW or QLD then you would pay the additional stamp duty.

We have a couple of lenders that will allow the property to be in one name and the loan to be in both names.

Call us on 1300 889 743 (+61 2 9194 1700 from outside of Australia) or complete our free assessment form to speak to our specialist mortgage brokers. They can guide you through the application process.